Officials of Three Gorges Dam operator abused power: CCDI

An inspection team from China's top disciplinary watchdog has found officials in the State-owned China Three Gorges Corporation have committed multiple economic irregularities.

Some officials had conducted secret bids for projects and abused their power by hiring companies connected with their relatives. Others have occupied multiple properties in violation of Party discipline, said Hou Kai, head of the inspection team from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI).

Hou informed the corporation management of the team's findings after a two-month investigation from October 29 to December 30, 2013.

Cao Guangjing, chairman of the corporation, said the company would take the inspection result seriously.

"We accept and endorse the inspector's advice and will adopt measures to rectify this," Cao said in a statement published on the corporation's website.

Hou said they also found the corporation has offices with excessive space and had purchased expensive vehicles for official use. He also criticized the company's high level decision-making process for its lack of transparency.

The inspection team advised China Three Gorges Corporation to investigate the officials involved and handle the various discipline breaches effectively.

China Three Gorges Corporation is a State-owned enterprise (SOE) that operates the Three Gorges Dam, the world's biggest hydropower project.

Wang Wenzhang, a political science professor from Peking University, told the Global Times the corporation's problem is typical for large SOEs.

"The company operates exclusively, under no supervision from outside. On paper, everyone is a shareholder, but the company is run by a few officials," said Wang.

Government officials who are going to retire in a few years are often appointed as company executives as a type of welfare benefit, said Wang.

The investigation is part of the second round of inspections led by the CCDI, which sent discipline inspectors to SOEs, central government ministries and universities.

Wang said the only way to fight corruption in SOEs is to transform them into real corporate entities and subject them to public scrutiny.

Prosecutors in China have investigated and handled 3,423 cases of corruption and bribery involving 4,480 people, an increase of 11.6 and 8.2 percent, news portal jcrb.com reported.